Front-plow construction for railroad spreaders



V. G. T ELLIS Oct; 7, 1930.

FRONT PLOW CONSTRUCTION FOR RAILROAD SPREADERS 5 Sheets-Sheet '1 Filed Dec 24 192s l I I I l l l'lrl l l I l I l ||||l1| v ITUfQTLTST Qzfajod 67 v. G. TEL LIS 1,777,588. FRONT PLOW OONSTRUCT ION FOR RAILROAD S PREADERS Oct. 7,1930.

Filed Dec. 24. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sew/ 2 Oct. 7, 1930. v G. TELLIS 1,777,588

FRONT PLOW CONSTRUCTION FOR...RAILROAD SPREADERS Filed Dec. 24. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet s Oct. 7,1930. v. G. TELLIS 1,777,538

FRONT PLOW CONSTRUCTION FOR RAILROAD SPREADERS Filed Dec. 24, 1926 s sneezS shQQt- 4 q EZfi/Od 1222215" 7 001.7, 1930. v. G. TELLIS 1,777,588

FRONT PLOW CONSTRUCTION FOR RAILROAD SPRE-ADERS Filed Dec. 24, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 m? R1 Q Q Q m; m 2';

wry/ad 6718/11? v Patented Oct. 7, 1930 D STTES PATENF OF ICE VSEVOLOD G. TELLIs, orv EAsroHIcAGo, INDIANA, AssIGNoRroor. JoImANcoM- PANY, or nnsromcaoo, INDIANA, A CORPORATION or INDIANA raoNrrnow ooNsTRUcrIo Non RAILROAD srR-nAiJEns Application filed ll eceniber 24, 1926. Serial No.15a792j This inventionrelates to improvements in front'plow constructions for railroad spreaders and it consists'of the: matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Railroad spreaders as heretofore constructed included a front plow which was relatively low in that it was arranged in a plane 7 below the deck and underfra-ming of the car with the result that its vertical adjustable movementwas indeed limited. W hen such a spreader was en'iployedin snow plow work in relatively deep snow, a portion of the snowpiled over the top of theplow, onto the deck and other portions flowed underjthe deck upon the track to the rear of the plow so thatthc sprcadercould not work effectively in such deep snow. j

The primary object of the invention is to provide a high front plow'for the spreader the top edge of which extends substantially flush or even with the front platform or deck so that the plow may" operate in deeper snow or other material without permitting the material to pile upon the deck or'flow over the top of the plow and back upon the track. A further object of'the invention is to provide an improved mounting for the plow relative to the car whereby the" plow may be more readilyraised and lowered and is more rigidly braced to withstanolthe great strains to which it is subjected in use I These objects of'the invention as well as others together with the many advantages.

thereof willmore fully appear as I proceed with my specification. I i I In the drawings: a r Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a railroad spreader embodying my improved front plow construction. V 2 is a top plan view on an enlargec scale of my improved front plow construc tion with parts broken away to moreclearly ilhistrate the same. V V 'Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section as taken on the line 38 of Fig. 2.

i Fig; 4 is a horizontal sectional View as taken on the line ied of Fig.

Fig. 5 is a. transverse vertical sectional VlQW. as taken on the llne 5-5 of Flg. 2.

- Fig. 6 is a View in side elevation of my improved front plow construction with one the plow members swung into parallelism travel upon the rails 3 of a railroad track.

Said car includes center sil1s;44,side sills 55 and intermediate sills 66 alliof said sills being arrangedin the same horizontal planeand connected togethernear their front ends by a cross sill 7 arranged in the eatsverseplane of thebolster of the truckQ;

The center sills which are in the'form of I beams project a considerable distance beyond the front ends of the side sills which are in the form of channels while the inter mediate sills which are also in the form of channels are shorter than the center sills and longer than the side sills. The extreme ends of the sills on both sides of the car-are rigidly securedtogether by pairs of'top and bottom angle bars 9 and 10 respectively-o 'with their horizontal flanges fixed to saidsills and facing inwardly and with their verticalflanges facing in oppositecdirection's as best shown-in Fig. 5. A-plate 11 is fixed tothevertical flanges of each pair of'angle bars andthe inner ends of the plates are spaced apart for V the free passage of the draw bar 12 which is connected byfisuitable 1 draft rigging (not shown) to the front ends of thelcenter sills; The construction of the framing just die scribed imparts apointed or V-shaped end to the car as a whole. Depending from each side sill, a shortdistance'from its front "endis a short section of structural member 13, and on the top flanges of the front ends of theside and intermediate sills isa plate 14, the 'purpose of said member ing later. j a

15 indicates as a whole (see Fig. 6) the skeletonlike front plow frame and 1 6--16 indicate the front .plow members which are 13 and plate 14 appearpivoted to said frame so as to be swung away from and toward said frame but are vertical- 1y movable therewith. The frame is substantially V-shaped as it conforms in plan to the pointed or V-shaped end of the car underframing. Said frame includes an upri ht nose casting or yoke 17 with a verticzilly disposed opening 17 therein for the passage of the draw bar. Diverging from each side of said casting are'pairs of top and bottom angle bars 18 and 19 respectively, thetop angle bars of each air being inclined downwardly toward their outer ends and the bottom angle bars being horizontally disposed. The outer ends of each pair of angle bars are connected together by an upright end member 2Q which includes vertically spaced bearing ears 21-2l. Between the casting l7 and end member 20, the angle bars of each pair are connectedtogether by an upright channel 22.

The frame thus described is closely engaged against the plates 11 at the forward end of the various sills of the under frame. Said 7 upright end member is provided between its ends with a forwardly extending apertured ear 20, the purpose of which will appear later. M The nose casting 17 is provided tively the former being a Z bar and the latter an angle bar. Also on the rear side of each plate are laterally spaced upright inner outer and intermediate Z bars 28 and 29 and 30 respectively which are secured to the top and bottom structural members by suitable gusset plates. All of said bars on the rear side of the plow plate are riveted thereto 7 and act to strongly and rigidly support said plate-so.

that it cannot twist or warp out of shape. Each plow plate is provided at its inner end with to and bottom bearing ears 31 32 securely .xed to the structural member 26 and 2? respectively and said ears are adapted to interfit with the associated bearing sleeves 2 3 2-st of the nose casting 17 Suitable hinge pins 33-34 are inserted through the. various ears whereby the front wing members may be swung about said'pins away from and toward the associated sides of the plow frame. In the outer end of each wing plate 25 is provided an opening 25 through which the ear 20 onan associated upright end member 20 extends when said plow member is inengage ment with its associated part of the plow frame, after which a removable pin is driven through the aperture of said ears 20 to secure said plow member in this position. In some instances it is desired to move material from one side to the other of the track. To do this one plow member is swung away from the plow frame into parallelism with the other plow member as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and removable brace bars 35 are then interposed between the rear of said plow member and the front of the associated framably connected. In the inner ends of the front plates of said plow members are cut away portions 25 which line up with the opening 17 in the nose casting for the passage of the drawbar.

Associated with each front plow member is a wing or apron 36 which has spaced bearing sleeves 36 atits front end to interfit the similar sleeves on the members 20 at each outer end of theplow frame, a pin 37 extending through all of said ears to hingedly connect the wing or apron to the plow frame. Thus when said wings extend parallel'with the car they prevent the material being spread from flowing under the rear end of the plow members to ridge upon along the ends of the ties in the track. By this connection, the wings or aprons are vertically movable with the plow frame. I Said wings or aprons may be used for-light spreading Work and in.some instances may be swung outwardly from the car into parallelism with its associated wing as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4 to form an extension of said plow member, being held in this position by removable struts (not shown) similar to those associated with the front plow members be foredescribed. Each plow member is provided along its bottom edge at the front thereof with a cutter blade 25 part of which is cut away as at 25 in Fig. 3 to clear the rails when the plow is in its lowermost vertical operative position.

As before stated the front plow frame and plow members together with their aprons and wings are vertically movable and such means are as follows:

A0 indicates a transversely extending edgewise disposed bar, located above the various center, side and intermediate sills and fixed at its ends to the top ends of the upright in- 1'3 termediate channel braces 22 of the plow frame at best shown in Figs. 2 and 5. intermediate its ends, said bar is attached to a cross head ll fixed to the bottom end of an upright piston rod 42. The top end of said mounted at its bottom end on a pair of short 1 short Ibeams 46' forming a part of the sup-- 7 piston rod rearwardlv.

masses transverse Z bars which rest on a. pair of short, longitudinal I beams 4.646 one pol sitionedfdirectly above each center sill and resting on the i pl'ate-"14: before "mentioned. This construction. provides a pedestal for the cylinder 44. Each I beam 46 hasa. vertically elongated slot 46 through which the cross bar 40 is capable of movement and the ends of the cross head 41 engage with the webs of said beams and thus prevent a lateral movement of the bar. Fluid'underpressure may be admitted to. the cylinder 44-. either through its bottom by'a pipe 47 leading from a suitable supply or through its top by a pipe 18 opening through the top or head of the cylinder. When such fluid is admitted through the pipe 47, the pipe 48 acts as the exhaust. Thus when the fluid under pressure is admittedto. the bottom end of said cylinder, the front plow frame, plow members and. wings or aprons are moved upwardly and when fluid is cut off from pipe 47 and is ad mitted to the top of the cylinder through the pipethen the front plow frame, plow member and wings are moved downwardly. To takethe strain off thec-ylinder 14: when the plow-frame and associated parts are in their uppermost positionand to lock it while working and 1n transit I provide the following mechanism. On the rear ends of the porting pedestal for the cylinder are two longitudinally spaced, front andrear cross plates4i9 and 49 respectively. To the rear 1 cross plate 4L9 is fixed a rearwardiy extend ing small power cylinder 50 to the piston51 of which is fixed a forwardly extending piston rod 52that has-sliding bearing in suitable openings in said cross plates When fluid under pressure is admitted through the head end ofsaid cylinder the piston and piston rod are moved forwardly so that the free end of the piston rod extends across the plane of the' cross bar 40. .Thuswhen the front plow parts are 111 the uppermost position the free end of the plston rod 52 extends under the cross bar and supports the plow frame. By

reason of the relatively short distancesaid rodextends beyond the frontlcross plate 49 to engage beneath the cross bar 40 it ably supports the same without anyappreciable bending strain. In the cylinder forwardly of the piston and surrounding the rod therein is a helical expansion spring 53 which is compressed in the forward movement of the piston to bring the rod into. position to be engaged by the cross bar 40. When it is desired to retract said rod out of supporting engagement with the cross bar,fluid under pressure is cut off from said cylinder and the spring expands to move the piston and Fixed to the rear end of each downwardly and'outwardly extending inclined top angle bar of the plow frame is an upwardly extadingtnwveetheaterjtt adapred when the plow frame and associatedfiparts are in their lowermost positionf'to havea hooked.

engagement with the upright flanges of angle bars 9 and top marginal edges of the plates 11 near their rear ends as best shown in 5. Thus the major portion of the weight of-the plow frame and associated parts: is removed from the piston 43 and cylinder 44 and is imposed directly upon the under frame of the car. It is: pointed out that when the plow members are in their normal positionsen- 'gagedagainst their associated sides or'halves of the plow frame the top and bottom bars 26.

and 27 of each plow-member engage below and above the like barson said plow frame as'best shown" in Fig. 5so that they foldso to speak, snugly against said frame and thus occupy but a minimumamount ofspace.

When the plow enters a mass of material previously dumped between the rails or when operating in heavy snow, it is apparent that the strains imparted tothe front plow and its frameis indeed considerable and if theframe were notproperly braced from the car,

the tendency would be to tipthe frame-for wardly about its topiend and thus cause it to warp so as to bind against itsintended vertical movement. Hence I have provided the following construction; 56 indicates a substantially V -shaped duplex member, having front and rear pairs of arms57 and 58 respectively, which diverge upwardly in' opposite directions from the apex of said between the cars 59 while its forwardend is likewise pivotedto the rearwardly extending ear 24 at the bottom ofthe nose casting fll7. Similar struts or braces 6262 areoperative ly connected'at' their rear or inner ends,to

said ears and at their front or outer ends to brackets 63"63 on the plow frameatfthe bottomend of the channels 22 thereon, said last mentioned braces extending at a right angle tothe associated halves of said plow frame as best shown in Fig. 4. The rear ends of the plow frame are connected in a similar manner by braces or struts 6464:. with the short beam sections 13 depending from the sidesills. Y i 1' ii The top rearwardlyextending ear 23 01 the nose casting is connected by a link 65 to forwardly extending ears 4:1 on the yokeel before mentioned. The connection for said ends of said links are pivotal connections and the axis ofone is arranged at a right-angle to thejother sogthat the link maybe capable of not only a vertical movement but also a slight lateral movement. 7 p 1t is apparent that'the resistance ofthe material acted. upon is imposed more directly upon the bottominargins of the plow membersand this resistance is imparted to the plow frame but iS I'ESlStQd by .the braces which as before described are supported froinfthe car unde'rframe. Thus thefor: ward tipping of the plow frame is guarded againshthe top end of the plow frame be. ing'further. held by the link 65 as-described. The braces and 'link described while efficient to resistthestrain imposed upon the plow frame are sufficiently flexible to per mitthe ready raisingand lowering movement of the plowframeland associated parts Oneach side of the carto'the rear ofeach plow wing or apron, there is provided a main spreader wing 66, the inner front end of which v is pivoted as 67 to a hinge plate 68 inturn having aipivotal connection with the bottom end of a wing block carriage 69 slidable in a vertical lposl; 70 on the sociated side of the car. 71 indicatesthe telescopic wing lifting brace loperatively connected to said main spreader wing a;

one side and in a similar manner connected to a hinge block 72 at the top endof the car riage 69; Said *wing normally occupies a position parallel withthe car body but may be swung into an angular position with re-. spect thereto in any suitable manner. Above the deck of the ear and extending. rearwardly from said wing posts is a cab 73 for the operatorand beneath said cab is a tank'Mc (See Fig. 1) for the supply of fluid under pressure for the various operating cylinders. By my improved construction I am en abledto provide a relatively high front plow construction on arailroad spreader which was not heretofore attainable. 'Thus the spreader may operate more efliciently in greater masses of material to be spread and in deeper snows when doing i snow plow work. Again I am enabled to better distribute the service ,istrains and to moredi rectly impose them upon the car under frame than has heretofore beenpossi-ble. The parts are more convenientlylocat'ed, for ready access in making inspectionsandrepairs and in all a more efficient and simple construction is, obtained.

While in describing my invention, Ihave referred to many details of construction as well as form and arrangement, of the parts thereof the-same istto be considered as by way of illustration only so that l'do not wish to be limited thereto exceptas may be pointed out :in the appended claims.

j I elaimas my invention z+- '1-.- In combination with a car having a V shaped front end, a similarly shaped plow frame mounted on. said: front end for a verti'cal raising and lowering movement, said plow frame approximating the height of said front end, a plow supported on said plow frame and including plow plates hinged to said frame-at the top and bottom bearing sleeves, upright rear members and top and bottom bars, plow plates having bearing sleeves interfitting with and pivotally connected to said sleeves on the nose casting, coacting means on said nose casting and plow plates for releasably locking said plates against the plow frame, and means on the car for raising and lowering said frame.

3. In combination with a car having av shaped front end, a similarly shaped. plow frame mounted on said front end and ineluding a nose casting, with top and bottom bearing sleeves, upright rearmembers and top and bottom bars, plow plates having bearing sleeves interfitting with and pivotally connected to said sleeves on the nose casting, said. nose castingand plow plates having vertically elongated openingsforthe passage of the drawbar of the car, and coacting means on said nose casting and plow plates for releasably locking said plates againstthe car frame and means for rai ing and loweringsaid frame;

'4. A front plow frame for a railroad spreader embodying therein an upright nose casting having diverging side portions and. forwardly extending top and bottom pairs of spaced bearing sleeves with an elongated opening between said pairs of spaced ears, upright end members, and top and bottom members connecting the like ends of the nose casting with the like ends of said upright end members, at the diverging sides thereof, and bracing members between the nosecasting and end members and connecting said top and bottom members together.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 11th day of December, 1926.

. VSEVOLOD G. TELLIS.

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